Brian Mulligan has been teaching free yoga classes in the area for several years now, specifically having taught multiple classes during a week between the Westhampton, Easthampton and Southampton libraries.
Mulligan first tried yoga years ago as a college student, but didn’t find the passion for it at that time in his life.
“I was never successful. There was a book back then, it was one of the only books on yoga, called ‘Hittleman’s 28 Day Guide to Yoga’ and I always found myself getting hurt by the fifth day so I kind of abandoned it,” said Mulligan with a laugh.
Later in life, though, now a little over a decade ago, Mulligan was dealing with a traumatic event that affected him “greatly.” After heading to Florida for a month, Mulligan somehow stumbled upon yoga again, and this time, it helped him immensely in many facets of life.
“I went down to Florida for a month and there was a woman teaching yoga on the beach every day. I was pretty beat up, both mentally and physically really bad, and I found that yoga was something that was a very nurturing type of exercise,” said Mulligan. “It helped me mentally and physically and I slowly, over the period of time that I was down there over that month, I was down there [on the beach] on a very consistent basis. And ever since then, I came back and pretty much have been doing yoga every week since then.”
When returning to the northeast, Mulligan began teaching in Hamden, Connecticut, for some time. He added he had plenty of nerves when first starting to teach, but from his training, he took the safety and ways of doing poses very seriously because he felt it gave him something to offer others.
Eventually, Mulligan found himself teaching courses at the Florence Organic Community Garden.
“From there, I decided that if I was going to be good at it, I’d better start doing it on a more consistent basis, so I tried to get to the point where I was doing teaching three days a week,” he added.
This is when Mulligan found himself connecting with area libraries about potential free yoga class offerings on a weekly basis. First starting in Westhampton, the free classes hosted by Mulligan eventually spread over to Easthampton, as well as Southampton, most recently starting last year. He still offers part-time classes in Florence as well.
“I’ve been surprised at what a great reception it’s been — I mean I really enjoy it. I’m retired, so it’s great to have this in my life. You meet a lot of fabulous people. It’s a great way to meet people, it really is,” Mulligan added. “I found that the libraries, first of all they don’t cost anything, and second of all, they’re a lot more receptive and they also have a platform for advertising.”
Mulligan said many people who have joined his classes over the years and still this summer are experienced in yoga. Plus, with the social element of getting together on a consistent basis for class, Mulligan said the classes have been a success.
“It’s something where you meet on a regular basis, and like I said, it’s a nice atmosphere, a calming atmosphere. And hopefully they’re getting something out of it. Maybe they walk out of class a little calmer, or their balance and strength has improved. Certainly, your confidence, I think, builds from doing this,” Mulligan explained. “It’s very rewarding. There are times when I don’t want to do it, but because of the fact that I’m scheduled to do it, it’s a great thing because I never go into a class and afterwards go, ‘oh boy, that was terrible.’ I mean sometimes my teaching’s not great, but I always feel like afterwards that I come out feeling better than how I went in. It’s really nice to have a group of people who show up a lot and participate and talk about yoga too.”
Mulligan said he aims to have free-flowing classes where attendees can follow along or break off and concentrate on their own personal goals in yoga.
“And I also like to use words like nurturing, compassion for yourself. Having a period of time at the end of class where we kind of just sit back and unlike other activities, maybe sit back and thank yourself for actually putting out the effort to come, and I think that’s a big part of yoga,” Mulligan shared.
A self-proclaimed snowbird, Mulligan lives in Florida now during the fall and winter months, but comes back to Western Mass. each summer. He hopes to continue teaching free classes and said the area is home to his yoga community.
“I’m a senior citizen myself. I really think that yoga is so beneficial for senior citizens because it’s wonderful to watch some of the people in the classes because some of the people have challenges and to watch them is real yoga because they’re doing the modifications. Like I said, a lot of people come here and are very experienced as far as yoga is concerned, but they do the modifications,” Mulligan said. “There’s a certain humility in that and humility is such an endearing quality to people.”
Mulligan added those interested in learning of his availability in the area through the different yoga classes he leads can email him at brian1050@att.net.
“They say that showing up is 90% of the job, so if you’re doing something, you’re doing a lot,” said Mulligan, encouraging those interested to consider a future class. “I feel that when I’m teaching, I’m giving something, but I’m really giving it back to myself. It’s great to enjoy it. People say to me, ‘Wow you’re doing this for free?’ And I say, ‘You know what, who gets to be retired and teach yoga classes four, five days a week?’ It’s a wonderful thing.”
